But an extra sentence was added by Lord Falconer to the crucial section of the speech criticising the detention camp.

The extra comment was: "That we disagree on this issue does not detract from the fact that the USA is a close and staunch ally of the UK." This part of the address was not included in the version of the speech sent to journalists on Thursday night.

Lord Falconer made the comments in the Magna Carta Lecture, delivered annually in Australia by senior British legal figures, to an audience of senators, MPs, judges and academics at the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The Attorney General, Lord Goldsmith, has described the Guantanamo camp as "unacceptable" and called for it to be closed.

Prime Minister Tony Blair has been more muted, simply calling it an "anomaly".